Deputy min. of industry:
TEHRAN, Jan. 04 (MNA) – Export of saffron in South Khorasan province increased 22 percent in the eight months of the current Iranian calendar year in 1396 (from March 21 to Nov. 22) as compared to the same period last year.
Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade for Exports Affairs Mojtaba Khosrotaj made the remark on Wednesday night saying, “effective steps have been taken in the field of solving unemployment problem in the country.”
Speaking in a ceremony to honor exemplary exporters of South Khorasan Province, he pointed to the generation of employment in the country and added, “once promotion of export is ignored, employment opportunities cannot be generated in this sector.”
All countries in the world focus on promoting export in national development, he said, adding, “we believe that promotion of export requires planning accurately.”
He, who is the head of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI), called on the government to remove barriers facing exporters of the country and said, “imposition of import and export rules and regulations, payment of facilities to economic activists and provision of suitable ways for constructive competition in export field are the main task of the government which should be taken into serious consideration.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, Khosrotaj called for setting up representative office in other countries in order to promote export activities.
He put the number of commercial envoys in other countries at 20 and said, “establishing representative office in other countries can help exporters to eye target markets suitably.”
Turning to the high export capacities and potentials in South Khorasan Province, he said, “tile and ceramics export in the country has witnessed a considerable six percent growth in the current year (to end March 20, 2018) as compared to a year before.”
The deputy minister once again urged the respected government to take effective steps in the field of supporting export activists and domestic exporters to spur production and generate more employment opportunities in the country.
MA/4190815
Minister of Industry:
TEHRAN, Jan. 03 (MNA) – Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Ali Shariatmadari said that business profit will likely be stabilized between 2 and 5 years.
Shariatmadari revealed on Tuesday the creation of mechanism for promoting business ties with Africa in near future.
Speaking in a meeting of Council of Dialogue between Public and Private Sector on the promotion of trade and business relations with Africa, he said, “it is logical to create diversification in export markets and there are certainly abundant potentials in African markets especially in the current situation.”
“I suggest to set up a Working Group for the promotion of trade and business ties between the government and Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA). In addition, it is logical that four trade and business centers should be established in the field of supplying products to the target markets.”
To conclude his remarks, the minister of industry said, “in this regard, the ministry has taken effective steps in the field of stabilization of business profit minimum and maximum two and five years respectively.”
MA/4189689
Tehran (ISNA) – A new shipping route between Iran and Oman was launched on December 30.
The Khorramshahr-Sohar shipping route was launched in the presence of a Board member and deputy of Iranian Ports and Maritime organization for maritime affairs, governor of Khuzestan, Omani ambassador to Iran and a number of provincial officials.
With the inauguration of the shipping route, the export from Khorramshahr port to Oman was started and the traders, business people and producers can export commercial shipments through Khorramshahr Port to Sohar Port and on other hand unload the custom goods in Khorramshahr.
The first shipping route between Iran and Oman was put into service in April 2015, connecting the port of Bandar Abbas with the port of Sohar.
“The shipping route will pave the way for export of agricultural, petrochemical and protein products and building materials to Oman,” the Board member and deputy of Iranian Ports and Maritime organization for maritime affairs Hadi Haghshenas said on the sideline of the inauguration ceremony.
Omani ambassador to Iran Saud bin Ahmad Khalid al-Barwani also said that the inauguration of the shipping route will increase the trade volume between Iran and Oman.
“The opening of Khorramshahr-Sohar shipping route will pave the way for more economic cooperation between the two countries and Oman is willing to launch more shipping route with other Iranian ports,” he added.
End Item
Tehran (ISNA) – According to the latest statistics, Iran has exported more than $ 31 billion during the last 9 months.
From March 21 to December 21, various products worth more than $ 31 billion were exported by Iran.
Iran’s main export products during the period were included gas condensates ($ 5.98 billion), liquefied propane ($ 1.68 billion), methanol ($ 835 million), light oils and other products including gasoline ($ 810 million) and hematite iron ore ($ 756 million).
The main importers of Iranian products during the period were included China ($ 6.527 billion), Iraq ($ 4.628 billion), the United Arab Emirates ($ 4.458 billion), South Korea ($ 3.11 billion) and Afghanistan ($ 2.4 billion).
End Item
Society
30 Iranians Missing as 2 Vessels Collide Off East China coast
TEHRAN (FNA)- Several crew members, including 30 Iranians and two Bengalese, have gone missing after two vessels collided off China's East Coast, Chinese Ministry of Transport announced on Sunday.
The collision, between a Panama-registered oil tanker and a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, occurred in waters about 160 sea miles east of the Yangtze River's estuary Saturday night, the ministry said.
The 32 missing crew members were all from the oil tanker. All the 21 crew members on the bulk freighter, all Chinese nationals, have been rescued, according to the ministry.
Chinese maritime authorities have dispatched eight vessels for search and rescue. After the coordination of China Maritime Search and Rescue Center, the Republic of Korea has dispatched a coastguard ship and a fixed-wing aircraft to assist in the search and rescue.
Meantime, Iranian Oil Ministry Spokesperson announced that the affected oil tanker belonged to the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) and it was carrying condensates for a South Korean company.
Most of the crew of the oil tanker were Iranians and the oil tanker had been insured by a reputable foreign company.
Economy
Refinery of South Pars Phases 22-24 Nearly Complete
TEHRAN (FNA)- Construction of a gas refinery belonging to phases 22 to 24 of the supergiant South Pars Gas Field has made 91% progress, operator of the phases' development project said.
Farhad Izadjou said the first gas sweetening train of the refinery will come online by late March 2018 and the other trains will become operational by August.
He said the offshore platforms of the phases will be installed at their designated spots in the Persian Gulf by late-March, adding the refinery will be fed by the gas recovered from phases 6 to 8 of the field that Iran shares with Qatar.
The phases are being developed for production of 56.6 million cubic meters/day of rich gas, 75,000 barrels/day of gas condensate, and 400 tons/day of sulfur.
Moreover, an annual production of 105 million tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and a million tons of ethane has been envisaged in developing the phases for feeding petrochemical plants.
TEHRAN (FNA)- The US Treasury Department in continuation of its anti-Iran policies imposed fresh sanctions on five Iranian firms for their alleged involvement in the country’s missile development program.
Shahid Kharrazi Industries, Shahid Sani’khani Industries, Shahid Moqaddam Industries, Shahid Eslami Research Center and Shahid Shoushtari Industries have been blacklisted under the US Executive Order 13382.
As a result of the move, all the assets of the institutes in the US will be blocked and the US nationals will be banned from making deals with them.
Moreover, the US Treasury Department announced that other countries’ individuals and institutes transacting with the five Iranian institutes will face the same risk.
This is while the US has been committed under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to avoid any act contradictory to the terms of the deal. However, they have always been seeking to expand the list of the so-called non-nuclear sanctions.
While campaigning for White House, Trump promised to rip up the deal but he has so far failed to win a global consensus against Iran and the nuclear deal.
Economy
Iran Ups Carpet Exports from Central Province by 12 Percent
TEHRAN (FNA)- Export of Persian carpets from the Central province of Isfahan witnessed a 12 percent growth in the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 22, 2017-December 22, 2017) as compared with last year's corresponding period.
"Over 100 million dollars worth of machine-woven carpets and related products have been exported from Aran and Bidgol township in Central province of Isfahan during the said period, showing a twelve percent rise as compared with last year," Head of the Office of Industries and Mines of Iran in Aran and Bidgol Mojtaba Mahlouji said.
Mahlouji noted over $111 million worth of commodities were exported from this region of which 90 percent consisted machine-woven carpets and products of related industries.
Pointing to the production of over 45 million square meters of machine-made carpets in Aran and Bidgol last year, the official said the region ranks first in term of weaving carpets in Iran.
He said the Aran and Bidgol region could also be considered as a carpet hub in the Middle East.
Iranian National Carpet Center recently announced that the Islamic Republic exported $270 million worth of hand-woven carpets during the eight months of the current calendar year.
The figure was 31 percent higher compared to the same period the previous year.
The Iranian hand-woven carpets were mainly exported to 29 destinations, including 13 Asian, 11 European and four American countries.
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran has considerably increased its non-oil exports from Noshahr port in Mazandaran province in the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 22-December 22) as compared to last year's corresponding period, a trade official announced.
"The volume of non-oil exports from Noshahr port has increased by 68 percent during first months of the current year," Director General of Mazandaran Province Ports and Maritime Organization Mohammad Taqi Anzanpour.
He underlined taking advantage of the potentials and capacities of the port for the promotion of export, and said, "All officials and personnel of Ports and Maritime Organization in Mazandaran Province try their utmost efforts to pave suitable ways for merchants and goods owners with the aim of spurring export in this port."
The main goods exported from Noshahr Port to the Caspian Sea littoral states include livestock and agricultural products, including apple puree and concentrate, food products such as tomato paste and dried nuts as well as minerals and construction materials.
In a relevant development in late December, it was announced that Iran boosted its non-oil exports in the first nine months of the current Iranian year as compared with the previous year's corresponding period.
According to the latest statistics, Iran exported over $31 billion during the said period.
Iran’s main export products during the said period comprised gas condensates ($5.98 billion), liquefied propane ($1.68 billion), methanol ($835 million), light oils and other products, including gasoline ($810 million) and hematite iron ore ($756 million).
The main importers of Iranian products during the period were China ($ 6.527 billion), Iraq ($4.628 billion), the United Arab Emirates ($4.458 billion), South Korea ($3.11 billion) and Afghanistan ($2.4 billion).
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian and Qatari officials signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on export of Iran's drugs to the Persian Gulf country.
Under the agreement, hard-to-cure Qatari patients and also patients suffering from cancer will use Iranian-made drugs and medicines.
For this purpose, the MoU was signed on Friday between Chief Executive of CinnaGen Pharmaceutical Group Haleh Hamedifar and Qatari pharmaceutical officials in order to supply Iranian medicines to Qatari patients suffering from special diseases.
Given the above issue, Iran’s CinnaGen Pharmaceutical Group undertook to supply more than 40 “hi-tech” drugs for Qatari patients from its production sites based in Iran and Turkey.
As the first and sole Iranian company, CinnaGen Pharmaceutical Group is licensed by EU’s GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) and is the largest and most reliable knowledge-based company in country’s pharmaceutical industry. The Group accounts for 30% of Iran’s total pharmaceutical export share.
Providing medicines and drugs for special and hard-to-cure patients is a major concern for all governments in the world at the current situation. The use of biochemical products can raise a hope for the treatment of a great number of patients who are in in need of medication across the world.
TEHRAN (FNA)- Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis underlined that his country has prioritized Iranian construction firms in reconstruction of Syria.
"Incentive packages have been considered for the Iranian companies in development projects of Syria," Khamis said in a meeting with members of a visiting Iranian parliamentary delegation in Damascus on Thursday night.
The Syrian prime minister expressed his special thanks to the unsparing support of the Iranian government and people for Syria in fighting against terrorism and termed the victories in Syria as a great achievement for the resistance movement.
He laid special emphasis on the participation of Iranian companies in economic activities and reconstruction projects of Syria.
In a relevant development in November, Iran and Syria signed a contract in the field of electricity industry worth over one million dollar to restore power plants and produce electricity in Syria.
"Considering the capabilities of Iran in the electricity industry, Tehran and Damascus have signed a 1.2-billion-dollar contract to produce electricity in Syria," Syrian Electricity Minister Mohammad Zuhair Kharboutli said on Monday.
He underlined that the Iranian companies have high technology in the field of electricity, and said, "The civil war has caused the destruction of Syria's infrastructure and more than 50 percent of the country's electricity systems have been destroyed, but Damascus is trying to restore them with the help of Russia and Iran."
In relevant remarks in early September, Caretaker of the Iranian Energy Ministry Sattar Mahmoudi announced that Tehran and Damascus have inked several agreements to reconstruct Syria's power lines and power plants.
"Most of these contracts are related to the reconstruction of electricity equipment, power plants and transmission lines so that we can provide better services to the Syrian clients," Mahmoudi said after a meeting with Syria's electricity minister.
Kharboutli, for his part, underscored the Iranian companies' good capabilities for providing power plant systems and equipment, and expressed the hope that these capabilities would be used for the reconstruction of his country.
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone conversation on Wednesday underlined the need for strengthening banking ties and accelerated use of national currencies for economic transactions.
"Bolstering the banking cooperation and facilitating the customs affairs will play an important role in the development and strengthening of relations," President Rouhani said.
He also stressed the need for accelerating cooperation between the two countries' banks, including in currency swaps and using the national currencies for trade.
Erdogan, for his part, underlined Ankara's interest in broadening ties with Iran in all fields, saying, "Bilateral relations will deepen by strengthening the banking cooperation and speeding up use of national currencies in economic relations between the two countries."
Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Valiollah Seif and his Turkish counterpart Murat Cetinkaya in a meeting in Ankara in October approved the draft of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to use their national currencies in their transactions.
Seif and Cetinkaya reached the agreement with the aim to facilitate trade with the national currencies of the two countries in order to finance trade and direct investment between the two countries.
Under the terms of the MoU, rial of Iran and Turkey’s lira will be easily converted to each other and the issue will reduce cost of currency conversion and transfer for traders of both sides alleviating the need for other currencies.
In other words, the two central banks will be able to use international payment instruments, including credits and negotiable ones, to finance trade in national and local currencies, as envisaged in the agreement.
Also during the one-day visit of Seif, an agreement was inked between Iran’s CBI on behalf of the government and the EBA Economic Development and Trade Bank. The signing ceremony was attended by senior banking officials from both countries.
Foreign Policy
Iran, Iraq Stress Broadening of Mutual Cooperation
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi and Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri in a meeting in Baghdad underlined the need for the expansion of bilateral ties in different fields.
During the meeting in the Iraqi capital on Tuesday, Masjedi and al-Jabouri explored avenues for bolstering and reinvigorating mutual cooperation in different political and security fields.
The two sides also discussed the latest political developments in the region.
Holding a meeting of Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation member states (PUIC) in Tehran was among the issues raised during the meeting.
Al-Jabouri said that reconstruction of the cities liberated from the ISIL terrorist group and repatriation of refugees in the shortest possible time are major problems facing his country.
He also underlined cooperation among regional states in a coordinated fight against terrorist groups.
Masjedi, for his part, voiced Iran’s readiness to help Iraq and cooperate in various sectors.
The meeting of PUIC to be hosted by the Iranian parliament in Tehran and it slated for January 16-17.
TEHRAN (FNA)- Germany has built five solar power plants in Hamedan Province, West of Iran, in a bid to help the country in the field of renewable energies, a provincial director general for economic affairs said.
"German ATUS Company has already made and installed four solar power plants in Hamadan Province and is now making the fifth one," Nasser Mahmoudi said.
He underlined that the foreign financiers have taken charge of investment of the power plants.
ATUS is the second biggest manufacturer and provider of solar power systems in the world.
In a relevant development in November, Iran's Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI) and Germany's Raschig signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on new oil-related technologies transfer.
The MoU was signed by RIPI deputy for technologies and international relations Mansour Bazmi and Raschig technical director Michael Schultes in Tehran.
Rasching is one of the most credible companies in the world and many industries are cooperating with it, Bazmi said after signing the MoU.
"The cooperation will be on transfer of technology on equipment used in distillation columns in refineries and petrochemical plants, designing the distillation columns based on the products of the Germany company, training specialists and experts of RIPI in related spheres," he added.
RIPI that has conducted a series of activities on designing distillation columns, will be able to use new approaches of Raschig in its projects, according to the official.
The German official, for his part, expressed the company's eagerness to get more information on RIPI to boost the cooperation in the future.
"Conducting some research, we found Iran a country suitable for boosting cooperation and commercializing our products," he said.
By editor on in Industry, Oil & Gas
The CEO of the Iranian Gas Engineering and Development Company (IGEDC) announced that the country has become self-sufficient in manufacturing turbo-compressor units used for transfer of natural gas.
Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Hassan Montazer Torbati pointed to the country’s Resistance Economy policy and said indigenizing widely used and strategic equipment is one of the clear examples of efforts to implement the policy.
He further said turbo-compressor units are among the most complicated equipment that Iran has managed to produce and indigenize them.
Now the Iranian companies of the MAPNA Group and Oil Turbo Compressor Company (OTC) are capable of designing, engineering and manufacturing the turbo-compressors needed in the Iranian gas transmission industry, the official said.
He added that after acquiring the knowledge of producing the turbo-compressor units, the import of this important and strategic equipment in the gas industry has stopped.
Turbo-compressor units are designed to compress and transfer natural gas with specified process parameters at compressor stations for gas mains, booster compressor stations (BCS) and underground gas storage (UGS).
(Source: Tasnim, under Creative Commons licence)
IRGC Media Producers open New Front against Rouhani
Tags: featured, Iranian Gas Engineering and Development Company (IGEDC), MAPNA, Oil Turbo Compressor Company (OTC)
By editor on in Communication, Politics, Security
By Dr. Narges Bajoghli for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iran Business News.
In a style typical of state television, a young interviewer stands on a sidewalk in a busy area and asks passersby their opinions about the recent outpouring of protests across Iran. A man in his 60s with tired eyes responds, “I have three children. They’re doctors and engineers. And all three are unemployed.”
A veteran of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, with a crowd standing around him, defiantly tells the interviewer, “I need medication for my injuries from the war, but my medicine isn’t covered, and I’m told to go buy it on the black market. Who can afford that? I have a condition in my back and at any moment I can be paralyzed. Who am I supposed to air my pain to?”
In a sharply produced video by Avant TV, a new internet channel on the sophisticated Iranian media landscape, a steady stream of people relay that they can no longer make ends meet in Iran’s struggling economy.
The Avant TV video, released on social media five days after protests erupted in Iran, which have thus far spread to dozens of cities and almost every province, carefully stitches together an emotional array of interviews of people unhappy with the economic situation and President Hassan Rouhani’s policies. With scarce public information available about Avant TV, and with the great pains its producers have taken to present it as an independent station, the video is intended to appear to be transparent, a true representation of the will of the Iranian people.
Glaringly absent from the video are any criticism of the political establishment as a whole, which has been one of the main themes of the current demonstrations.
Avant TV is in fact not independent at all. Al-Monitor has not been able to contact it, but two pro-regime media producers confirmed that it is only the latest example of a new media outlet backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seeking to reinforce the narrative of the supreme leader above the politics of Iran.
Germany Exports $2.8bn in Goods to Iran in 9 Mths
Iran Self-Sufficient in Gas Turbo-Compressors
Tags: featured, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC), protests, Rouhani
The head of the German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce said Germany sold 2.358 billion euros ($2.846 billion) worth of goods to Iran, and imported just $328 million worth of goods from Iran in nine months from January through October 2017.
Michael Tockuss, head of Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag (DIHK), added that German exports to Iran grew by more than 27 percent year-on-year from 2015 to 2016, and remain on a steep upward curve, according to Deutsche Welle (DW) on Tuesday.
“Germany’s trade surplus with Iran is massive,” Tockuss said.
“But that’s nothing new. The Iranians complain about it from time to time, and we try to find ways to encourage more Iranian exports into Europe and Germany, but we’ve been running big trade surpluses with Iran for forty years,” he added.
One might imagine that trade between Iran and Germany is about sending oil in one direction, and automobiles in the other, but that’s incorrect, Tockuss continued.
“We (Germany) don’t buy crude oil from Iran,” he said.
“Our refineries aren’t designed to deal with the high-sulfur crude Iran produces. Only Italy and Greece have refineries that can process it, so they’re the main European importers of Iranian oil.”
“Around 60 percent of Iran’s total trade revenues come from oil and gas sales. That’s a lot — but the other 40 percent are important too. Iran’s economy is the most industrially diversified in the region,” Tockuss went on to say.
Diplomatic and trade relations between Iran and European countries, Germany in particular, have improved greatly since the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), came into force in January 2016.
(Source: Tasnim, under Creative Commons licence)
Video: Turkish banker Convicted in Iran Sanctions Case
IRGC Media Producers open New Front against Rouhani
Tags: Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag (DIHK), featured, German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce, Germany, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), refineries
By editor on in Finance, Security
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iran Business News.
A Turkish banker has been found guilty in a US court of taking part in a scheme to violate Washington’s sanctions against Iran.
Mehmet Hakan Atilla and eight others were accused of moving billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian money through American banks, disguised as food and gold sales.
Al Jazeera‘s Kristen Saloomey reports from New York:
US Treasury Sanctions more Iranian Entities
By editor on in Industry, Security
The United States’ Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned five Iran-based entities subordinate to a key element of Iran’s ballistic missile program.
Shahid Kharrazi Industries, Shahid Sanikhani Industries, Shahid Moghaddam Industries, Shahid Eslami Research Center, and Shahid Shustari Industries are being designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13382 for being owned or controlled by Iran’s Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group (SBIG).
Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin (pictured) said:
“These sanctions target key entities involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program, which the Iranian regime prioritizes over the economic well-being of the Iranian people. As the Iranian people suffer, their government and the IRGC fund foreign militants, terrorist groups, and human rights abuses.
“The United States will continue to decisively counter the Iranian regime’s malign activity, including additional sanctions targeting human rights abuses. We will not hesitate to call out the regime’s economic mismanagement, and diversion of significant resources to fund threatening missile systems at the expense of its citizenry.“
SBIG, which is responsible for the development and production of Iran’s solid-propellant ballistic missiles, is listed in the Annex to E.O. 13382 and is currently sanctioned by the U.S., UN, and EU.
- Shahid Kharrazi Industries is subordinate to SBIG and is responsible for the development and production of guidance and control systems for solid-propellant ballistic missiles.
- Shahid Sanikhani Industries is subordinate to SBIG and is responsible for casting and curing solid-propellant for Iran’s solid-propellant ballistic missiles.
- Shahid Moghaddam Industries is subordinate to SBIG and is responsible for the development and production of solid-propellant missile motor cases, ballistic missile launchers, and ground support equipment.
- Shahid Eslami Research Center is subordinate to, and serves as the research and development organization within, SBIG.
- Shahid Shustari Industries is subordinate to, and likely was created for the development of fiber materials for, SBIG.
As a result of this action, all property and interests in property of those designated today subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them. I
n addition, foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate significant transactions for, or persons that provide material or certain other support to, the entities designated today risk exposure to sanctions that could sever their access to the U.S. financial system or block their property and interests in property under U.S. jurisdiction.
For identifying information on the entities designated today, click here.
(Source: OFAC)
Video: Head of Army declares End of Unrest
Video: Turkish banker Convicted in Iran Sanctions Case
Tags: featured, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), sanctions, Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group (SBIG), Shahid Bakeri Industries Group (SBIG), Shahid Eslami Research Center, Shahid Kharrazi Industries, Shahid Moghaddam Industries, Shahid Sanikhani Industries, Shahid Shustari Industries, United States
By editor on in Politics, Security
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iran Business News.
Iran’s army chief declared on Thursday that police had already quelled anti-government unrest that has killed 21 people, but said his troops were ready to intervene if needed.
Rallies in support of the government have been held across Iran for a second day.
Al Jazeera‘s Zein Basravi reports from Tehran:
UN urges Iran to Investigate Protest Deaths
By editor on in Politics, Security
UN human rights chief urges Iranian authorities to defuse tensions, investigate protest deaths
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has urged the Iranian authorities “to handle the wave of protests that have taken place around the country with great care so as not to further inflame violence and unrest,” and to investigate all deaths and serious injuries that have occurred so far.
Zeid said:
“I am deeply disturbed by reports that more than 20 people, including an 11-year-old boy, have died and hundreds have been arrested during the recent wave of protests in Iran.
“The Iranian authorities must respect the rights of all demonstrators and detainees, including their right to life, and guarantee their safety and security.
“There must be thorough, independent and impartial investigations of all acts of violence that have taken place – and a concerted effort by the authorities to ensure that all security forces respond in a manner that is proportionate and strictly necessary, and fully in line with international law.”
The UN human rights chief stressed that Iranian citizens who take to the streets to express their discontent have a right to be heard, and that the issues they raise should be resolved through dialogue, with full respect for freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.
He warned:
“It is incumbent on the authorities that their actions do not provoke a downward spiral of violence, as occurred in 2009 .. The authorities must take all steps to ensure that this does not happen again.”
The High Commissioner urged the authorities to release from detention any protestors who have been arbitrarily deprived of their liberty, or penalised in any way, for expressing their views and protesting in a peaceful manner. “Peaceful protests must not be criminalised,” he said. “They are a legitimate part of the democratic process.”
(Source: OHCHR)
Sinopec to Upgrade Iran’s Abadan refinery
Video: Head of Army declares End of Unrest
Tags: featured, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), protests
China’a Sinopec Engineering has announce that the Group has agreed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with the National Iranian Oil Engineering and Construction Company in relation to Phase II of the Abadan refinery upgrade.
The Group puts the value of the contract at RMB6.858 billion ($1.06 billion).
(Source: Sinopec)
Import of Pipeline Supplies “Easier” Post-Sanctions
UN urges Iran to Investigate Protest Deaths
Tags: Abadan, Abadan Oil Refinery, China, featured, National Iranian Oil Engineering & Contruction, refineries, Sinopec
